Free finance and benefits advice for brain tumour patients now available thanks to sponsorship from legal firm RWK Goodman

BRISTOL, UK / AGILITYPR.NEWS / August 10, 2022 / The team at Bath-based legal firm RWK Goodman are supporting nationwide charity Brain Tumour Support by sponsoring an essential new role to help people with brain tumours access financial and welfare benefits.

Added financial pressures caused by a brain tumour diagnosis in tandem with the sharp rise in cost of living, and the complexities of the benefits system place an unbearable burden on many people.

People with any type or grade of brain tumour and their families anywhere in the UK can access the free support including:

          ·      Individual support via Zoom or telephone

          ·      Help on making applications for benefits

          ·      Help and advice on taking an appeal to a Tribunal or Upper Tribunal

          ·      Advice and guidance on when to apply for a Power of Attorney and how to complete the paperwork

Visit: https://www.braintumoursupport.co.uk/finance-benefits-service or call Brain Tumour Support’s UK support line on: 01454 422701

Lucy Norton, Senior Associate at RWK Goodman explains, 

“With the current cost of living crisis, it is more important than ever to have financial security and help when diagnosed with a life-changing condition such as a brain tumour. Brain Tumour Support understands the need for help with financial management and navigating the bureaucracy of the welfare benefits system at this difficult time and that is something that we at RWK Goodman wholeheartedly recognise and support.  

“Brain Tumour Support has a focus of ‘no-one is alone’ which is a natural fit with RWK Goodman values and with the ethos of our ‘Team Around the Client’ approach. We look forward to seeing the good that will come from the advice that postholder Steve Miller can give.” 

Brain Tumour Support CEO, Tina Mitchell Skinner, explains, 

“We work to offer free support and counselling to thousands of people diagnosed with brain tumours and their families every year. One of the recurring issues people diagnosed with a brain tumour, whether low or high grade, face is the devastating effect on their finances. Some people have to give up their careers completely, many face long periods of time off work and others are unable to return to their previous role.”

RWK Goodman is generously sponsoring the post in 2022-23.

The postholder for Brain Tumour Support’s Welfare Benefits Support Professional role is Steve Miller. 

Steve says: “It has certainly been my experience that there are specific issues which make the benefit procedure especially difficult for brain tumour patients. There is also a quite alarming lack of understanding on behalf of the Department of Work and Pensions, and especially the medical assessment companies, on the physical and psychological consequences of brain tumour diagnosis and surgery. As a result, I feel a specialist support service is crucial, and I am hopeful that we will in future be able to expand the help provided.”

Key facts about brain tumours:

          ·       Approximately 45 people each day in the UK face a brain tumour diagnosis 

          ·       Over 100,000 people in the UK are living with a brain tumour 

          ·       There are more than 120 different types of brain tumour making them notoriously difficult to diagnose 

          ·       The cause of brain tumours is not known, they can affect anyone regardless of age, sex, lifestyle or general health 

          ·       Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other type of cancer 

          ·       Over 40% of people with a brain tumour have to give up work as a result of their diagnosis 

          ·       Over 55% of people with a brain tumour have to give up their driving licence and lose their independence 

          ·       Over 65% of people say a brain tumour has a negative impact on their friendships 

          ·       Brain tumours affect both physical and mental health 

To request an interview with Tina Mitchell Skinner or further information about Brain Tumour Support, or RWK Goodman, please contact:

Caroline Edmunds on mobile: 07775 943305/ caroline.edmunds@theanswer.ltd  

Catherine Dhanjal: 0794 166 9925 / Catherine.dhanjal@theanswer.ltd  

Photo: (left to right) Louise Gallard (BTS) / Sarah White (RWK Goodman Bath) / Steve Miller (BTS) / Lucy Norton (RWK Goodman Bath) / Emma McKeown (BTS)